Dorothea Wierer is a five-time Junior World Champion who has blossomed into one of the top female biathletes in the world in the past two years. Wierer was part of Italy’s Bronze medal mixed relay team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. She had five individual victories and finished third in the World Cup Total Score in the 2015-16 season. Doro is known as one of the fastest shots in women’s biathlon, as well as her penchant for fun and laughter away from the stadium.

When did you start biathlon?

I was 10 years old when I started training. I wanted to do biathlon because my older brother did biathlon.

What do you remember about your first race?

I do not think I hit any targets; I was really bad at shooting. I was last, but I was very happy because the prize was a chocolate bar…and I love chocolate!

When did you realize that you could be really good in biathlon?

Actually, after the medal in Sochi; I became more serious and trained much harder. Before that, I would train well for some weeks and then not so well. The whole atmosphere in our team changed after that.

How do you approach shooting?

It is all in your head; if you think about it too much; that is bad. I was a much faster shooter when I was young. I never thought about mistakes, just how fast I could go on the tracks. Now, I shoot as I feel, sometimes fast and sometimes not so fast.

Besides biathlon, what do you do very well?

Shopping; I could be a professional shopper; I would win every race!

What is the worst thing about biathlon?

When you miss and have to go to the penalty loop; it is even worse when the snow in the loop is deep and slow; it is depressing.